| Volume 142 Number 99 |
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Wishing everyone a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season. The Consumer News Alert will return in 2020!
The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Report gift card scams directly with the card issuer (use this list of phone numbers and emails), then report it to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint. Click here for more.
Congress raises the minimum age for buying tobacco and e-cigarettes to 21
E-cigarettes seem to have dominated the headlines in recent months, but Congress has given final passage to a bill addressing tobacco as well, raising the age for purchasing both from 18 to 21. The measure was one of the few issues to garner bipartisan support in this Congress so far. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (D-Ky.) worked with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) to guide the bill through the Senate. Already approved by the House, the measure heads for the White House where President Trump has indicated he will sign it into law. It nationalizes a policy already adopted by 19 states and the District of Columbia to require people to be at least 21 to purchase tobacco. Click here for more.
Your Money
Watching a child open a gift can be as exciting for the adult as it is for the recipient. But kids receive a lot of toys, many of which are underappreciated or quickly forgotten. Instead of, or in addition to buying toys for your grandchildren, you might consider setting aside some of your budget for financial gifts. Here are some financial gift ideas for your children and grandchildren: Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Plaintiff that receives compensation before filing complaint cannot represent a class. A California federal judge gave CamelBak Products LLC a win Thursday in a proposed class action alleging its "spill-proof" water bottles were defective. The court said the plaintiff has no standing to sue because she was compensated before she filed the complaint. The judge noted that although the plaintiff initially rejected a replacement bottle and check sent her in response to her issues with a defective bottle, she was still made whole by the offer, and, therefore, is not suitable to bring the class action suit. While the plaintiff argued she did not accept the gifts, as she has maintained both the bottle and $20 in escrow, the judge rejected the argument, as previous courts have routinely done, saying accepting her argument would in effect discourage future plaintiffs from resolving their disputes without going to court. She was already made whole prior to filing the lawsuit, and can't represent the proposed class, according to the opinion. Lepkowski v. CamelBak Products LLC et al., case number 4:19-cv-04598, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Click here for more.